Portable locator system

ABSTRACT

A locator system and method for locating at least one of persons and objects within a facility comprises a plurality of badges, each badge having a badge transmitter that wirelessly transmits a signal including unique identification code, and a plurality of transceivers spatially dispersed within the facility, each of the transceivers having a transceiver receiver that receives signals including the unique identification code transmitted by a badge and a transceiver transmitter that wirelessly forwards the signals received from the badge to a central processor via a receiver.

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.10/396,677, filed Mar. 25, 2003, projected U.S. Pat. No. ______ which isa continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/410,386, filed on Sep.30, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,539,393, the disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a portable locator system andmore particularly a portable locator system for facilitating collectionof information relating to visits by persons or objects at differentlocations within a facility.

Market analysts and sellers of goods and services make extensive use ofdata relating to the behavior of their purchasers to better target andmarket their goods and services. Data relating to consumer traffic isone purchaser behavior data used to gauge the attractiveness of thegoods or services offered for sale. For example, data such as frequencyand duration of visits to Internet websites where goods and services areoffered is useful data for the seller marketing their goods.

For the operators of supermarkets and other large retail establishments,it may be important to know the traffic pattern of the shoppers, such asthe frequencies of visits to certain isles and the duration of visits atcertain types of goods or at locations where particular brands of goodsare shelved.

In a tradeshow setting, exhibitors would like to know how often and forhow long are visits to their booths to gauge the appeal to buyers oftheir goods. If available, the identity of the persons visited and thecompanies they belong to are valuable information to the sellers.Exhibitors often ask for visitors' business cards or use othertechniques such as offer novelty gifts to entice visits by attendees sothat the information can be collected. The identity and companyinformation can be used by the marketer to follow up on the visitor'sinterests or to identify visits by competitors. When such information iscoupled with the frequencies and durations of visits, the marketer canbetter gauge the level of interests in the marketer's product(s). Whenexhibitors display several products, it would also be helpful to knowwhich of the products the attendees visited and for how long.

Shopper profiling software is now readily employed by Internet websiteoperators to profile visitors to their sites. Operators of onlineshopping sites employ software to collect shopper traffic informationsuch as which pages of product information were browsed, their viewingdurations, frequencies, and types of goods browsed or purchased. Withsuch information, the sellers can better solicit similar types of goodsto the identified shoppers. Email solicitations seen to the targetshopper are now common occurrences.

In a physical setting, a locator system can be used to collectinformation such as the identity of individuals, locations of visits bythe individuals, and the durations of stays at different locations.Exemplary location systems are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,426 toYacenda, U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,851 to Chaco, and application Ser. No.60/119,268, filed by John Chaco on Feb. 9, 1999. The disclosures intheir entirety in these patents and patent application are incorporatedby reference herein.

As can be seen from the above patents, a locator system for locatingpersons or objects within a facility includes portable badges worn bypersons or objects which transmit identification information toreceivers at fixed locations. A central processor collects theidentification information from the receivers to determine the locationsof the persons or objects. Typically, a receiver is installed in eachroom of the facility. Each receiver is connected by wire to the centralprocessor. It can be appreciated that installation of a locator systemrequires considerable wiring, planning, and time. Once installed,reconfiguration of the system can be costly and difficult.

Therefore, a need exists for a locator system which can be portable,affording ease of installation and changes in system configuration, forcollecting location and traffic information in facilities requiringfrequent configuration changes.

A locator system of the present invention is provided for locatingobjects within a facility, comprising a plurality of badges, each havinga badge transmitter for wirelessly transmitting a unique identificationcode, a database for storing a list of each badge, its identificationcode and a person or an object associated with each badge, and aplurality of transceivers spatially dispersed within the facility, eachof the transceivers having a transceiver receive for receiving theidentification code and a transceiver transmitter for wirelesslyforwarding signals to a central processor, the signals including theunique identification code received from said badges, wherein thecentral processor determines from the signals received from thetransceivers the location of the person or object.

Preferably, the central processor determines from the signals receivedfrom the transceivers the time the identification codes were received,by which transceivers, and the durations of receipt of the sameidentification code by each transceiver. The central processorpreferably also generates a database listing the persons or objectslocated, locations visited by the persons or objects, and the durationof each visit.

In one embodiment of the system of the present invention, each of thetransceivers receives in infrared the unique is identification codesfrom the badges and the transceivers transmit the signals to the centralprocessor in RF.

In another embodiment, a plurality of transceiver modules are connectedto the central processor through a local area network.

A method is also provided for collecting location data within a facilitycomprising the steps of: associating each of a plurality of objects orpersons to a respective one of a plurality of badges; each of the badgeshaving a unique identification code; wirelessly transmitting from eachof said plurality of badges the unique identification code; receiving attransceivers within range of reception the unique identification code;wirelessly transmitting from the transceivers signals to a centralprocessor, the signals including the unique identification code of thebadge and its own identification code; determining from the signalsreceived from the transceivers the locations of the transceivers andbadges, and maintaining at the central processor, a list of objects orpersons associated with respective badges and the locations of theobjects or persons traveled within the facility.

In one embodiment, signal strength information relating to transmissionsreceived from the badges is used to discriminate a transceiver closer tothe transmitting badge. The central processor includes a RF transmitterfor transmitting interrogation signals to each of the plurality oftransceivers.

In still another embodiment, a portable locator system is provided forlocating objects within a facility comprising a plurality of wirelesstransmitters, each having a unique identification code, for periodicallytransmitting the identification code, at least one wireless transceiverfor receiving within its reception range the identification codetransmitted from each of the wireless transmitters and for transmittinga message including the identification code of the wireless transmitterand identification code of said wireless transceiver, and a plurality oftransceiver modules for receiving the message from the wirelesstransceiver and transmitting signals to a central processor, the signalsincluding the identification codes of the wireless transmitter and thewireless transceivers wherein the central processor determines thelocations of the wireless transmitters from the signals. The wirelesstransmitters and the wireless transceiver transmit in RF.

The system further includes memory for storing a list of each of thewireless transmitters, its identification code, identification of aperson or an object associated with each of the wireless transmitter,and locations and times of travel. Another listing includes names ofpersons or identification of objects associated with each of thewireless transmitters, products associated with the at least onewireless transceiver having received transmissions from the wirelesstransmitters, and times and durations of the reception.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention are described herein below withreference to the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the locator system according to thepresent invention configured for a convention center setting;

FIG. 1A illustrates another embodiment of the locator system in aconvention center setting;

FIG. 2 illustrates a configuration of the locator system in asupermarket;

FIG. 3 illustrates an overall block diagram of a transceiver moduleaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 4A illustrates an overall block diagram of a badge unit accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 4B illustrates a central processor according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary listing of the traffic data collected from thesystem of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is an exemplary listing representing data collected from thesystem of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Generally, a locator system according to the present invention includesa central processor, a plurality of portable transceivers, and aplurality of portable badges. Each of the plurality of badges transmitsa unique ID code, preferably in infrared, substantially periodically andcontinuously. Each of the plurality of transceivers includes an infraredreceiver for receiving transmissions of the ID codes from badges withinreceiving range of the transceiver. In one embodiment, each of thetransceivers also includes a wireless transmitter, which preferablytransmits signals in RF, for forwarding signals to the centralprocessor. The transceivers thus receive and transmit signalswirelessly, affording portability and mobility. The central processorincludes an RF transceiver for receiving signals transmitted from theportable transceivers.

In another embodiment, transceiver modules are connected in a local areanetwork to central processor. The transceiver modules are dispersed atlocations throughout a facility. Transceiver modules receive signalsfrom the portable transceivers, then relay badge, transceiver, andtransceiver module IDs to the central processor via the LAN. The IDsignals are processed by the central processor to determine, among otherthings, the locations of the badges.

Advantageously, the portable badges and transceivers facilitate ease ofsystem installation and reconfiguration. Thus, the embodiments of thesystem according to the present invention are well suited for use infacilities which require frequently changed physical settings, such asin a convention center wherein tradeshows are frequently held andphysical configurations of exhibits are changed depending upon thedifferent types of shows.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the locator systemconfigured for a convention center/trade show. A plurality oftransceivers 151 to 162 are disposed in the various booths set up at thevarious locations of the facility. At some booths, more than onetransceivers are used to provide better coverage for different products.For example, transceivers 151, 152, 155, and 156 are used for suchpurpose. When attendees of the show register its attendance, they aregiven name tags to identify themselves. This is a customary practice andthe attendee's name and his place of employment is usually indicated onthe name tag. With the present system, a portable badge can be given orembedded in the name tag. The badges have been preassigned with a uniqueID. The provider or organizer of the trade show will upon an attendeecompleting his registration information, associate the badge with theattendee by inputting the person's name and company information and thebadge ID information associated with the person. Preferably, the badgestransmit its ID code at a modulation frequency of about 455 Khz. Thecode is sent about every four seconds. Each badge transmits periodicallyand substantially continuously its identification code in infrared. Eachtransceiver is capable of receiving the badge data when the badgetransmitters are in the transceiver's reception range. The transceiversdetect, digitize and process the received infrared signals and transfersthe processed information to the central processor 110 by RFcommunication. The central processor 110 includes a RF transceiver 120including an RF receiver for receiving RF transmissions fromtransceivers 151 to 162.

Advantageously, because transceivers 151 to 162 receive and transmitwirelessly, e.g., receives in infrared and transmits in RF, installationof the transceivers can be simply by placement of the transceivers atthe locations requiring locator coverage. The laborious, costly, andtime consuming hardwired installations of transceivers are renderedunnecessary. Further, if the configuration of the trade show changes,such as changes necessary in the layout of the booths, the locatorsystem configuration can easily be changed by moving the portabletransceivers with the changed booths.

Referring again to FIG. 1, when each attendee walks or attends differentbooths of the trade show, transceivers 151 to 162 in each booth receivesthe identification code of the badge carried by the attendee. Theidentification information, along with the transceivers' ownidentification codes, and the signal strength of the signals receivedfrom the badges, are forwarded by the transceivers to the centralprocessor 110. The RF transceiver 120 of central processor 110 receivesthe ID information in RF and central processor 110 processes and sortsthe information into which of the transceivers were visited by whichbadge, when and for how long. Then, the central processor retrieves theinformation entered by operators when the attendees registered for theshow to archive a list having identity of the attendees, the places ofbooths visited, the times of the visits, and the durations of thevisits.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, communications among the transceivers151 to 162 and the RF transceiver 120 of central processor 110 can be bypolling by central processor 110, or by automatic and periodictransmission from each of transceivers 151 to 162. In the pollingscheme, each of transceivers 151 to 162 is interrogated in sequence bycentral processor 110 via interrogation signals sent from RF transceiver120. The interrogation signal includes a request and a transceiveraddress. Upon receipt of a matching address, the respective transceiverresponds to the request with a transceiver signal packet. The packetincludes its own ID, the identification code(s) received from badge(s)within its reception range, and the signal strengths of the badgesignals. The reception range of transceivers 151 to 162 in infrared ispreferably 5 to 15 feet. The reception range of RF transceiver 120 ofcentral processor 110 is preferably around 300 feet. The RFtransmissions for transceiver 151 to 162 is preferably around 900 Mhz.The signal strength information is used to decipher which of theneighboring transceivers, such as 155, 156, received a strongertransmission from the same badge. Central processor 110 interprets thestronger signal strength level information as the closer of the twotransceivers to the attendee. Central processor 110 processes thetransceiver packets and tracks each attendee by time-stamping eachtransceiver packet having a new badge ID signal. Thus, the duration ofeach visit of each attendee at a particular transceiver can be derivedby subtracting the time of initial reception of badge ID at theparticular transceiver from the time of initial reception of the samebadge ID at the next transceiver, and so on.

In the periodic transmission mode, each transceiver 151 to 162 transmitsa transceiver packet, substantially as described above for thepolling-mode, about every four seconds, to RF transceiver 120 of centralprocessor 110. Central processor 110 includes stored program andassociated memory for processing and time stamping the received packetsas described above to track each attendee. Further descriptions of thecomponents and operations of the central processor 110, RF transceiver120 and transceivers 151 to 162 are provided below and in FIGS. 3, 4Aand 4B.

FIG. 1A shows an alternative embodiment of the locator system in atradeshow setting. As shown, booths 180 and 190 each has multipletransceivers 181 to 184 and 191 and 192 disposed in respective booths tobetter discriminate visits by show attendees to different productsdisplayed at their booths. For example, at booth 180 transceivers 180 to184 are used to cover four different products. It is known to oneskilled in the art that in infrared communications, infrared receiversreceive only “line of sight” transmissions from the badges, unless thetransmissions are reflected off reflecting surfaces. As such, when theattendees view a product, he typically faces the product andtransmissions from his badge on the name tag are received by therespective transceiver disposed proximal to that product. Thetransceivers send the signal strength received from the badgetransmissions. If multiple transceivers report receiving the same badgeID code, the signal strength indication could be used to betterdiscriminate the location of the attendee. Transceivers 181 to 184 and190 and 192 wirelessly transmit, preferably in RF, message packetsincluding data relating to ID codes received from badges, signalstrengths, and its own ID to a nearby wired transceiver module 171, 172or 173. The wired transceiver modules are connected to central processor110 via a local area network (LAN) 170. The wired transceiver modules171 to 173 then in turn forwards the message packets received fromtransceivers 181 to 184 or 191 and 192 to the central processor 110 viaLAN protocol known to one skilled in the art.

In the configurations of the locator system shown in FIGS. 1 and 1A, thecentral processor 110 processes the information received from thetransceivers or transceiver modules and creates a database detailingvisitor and traffic information such as shown in FIG. 6. In the case ofthe system shown in FIG. 1, central processor 110 preferably retrievesinformation from transceivers 151 to 162 by interrogating eachtransceiver in turn with an interrogation or request signal sent from RFtransceiver 120 to each transceiver. As earlier described, upon receiptof the request signal from central processor 110, each transceiverrecognizes its identification and responds by forwarding the messagestored in its respective memory. When a badge ID first appears in themessage received from a transceiver, the processor time stamps thereceipt of the badge at the respective transceiver. For example,transceiver 151 first receives badge transmissions from attendee 99.Central processor 110 interrogates each transceiver substantially in aperiodic fashion. When attendee 99 moves to another booth, thecorresponding transceiver in that booth will pick up its badge ID signaland will be seen by central processor 10 when the respective transceiveris interrogated. When central processor 110 detects the first messagefrom another transceiver which includes the badge ID from attendee 99,central processor 110 time stamps the message and logs in its databasethe duration of time of the visit of attendee 99 at booth 131 bysubtracting the two time stamp information. The time stamping process asdescribed for attendee 99 at booth 131 is repeated by central processor110. In such fashion, a log is kept on each attendee by centralprocessor 110. It can be readily appreciated by one skilled in the artthat instead of an interrogation/reply type of messaging from betweencentral processor and the transceivers 151 to 162, an interrupt drivencommunication method could be employed. For example, the reporting datafrom the transceivers 151 to 162 can be kept in short bursts, themessages reported from transceivers 151 to 162 can be reportedasynchronously, whenever badge ID codes are received by thetransceivers. In such case, the central processor 10 employs aninterrupt driven system, wherein a message received from a transceivercauses an interrupt to alert central processor 110 to receive suchmessage. Keeping the messages in short bursts minimizes messagecollision; however, collision discrimination programs may need to beemployed to discriminate and resolve the message collisions.

In the configuration as shown in FIG. 1A, badge transmissions fromattendees are received by the closest transceivers 181 to 184 or 191 and192. The badge IDs are relayed to the most proximal transceiver module,for example, transceiver 181 to transceiver module 171, preferably inRF. The badge ID of attendee 99 and transceiver 181 are temporarilystored at transceiver module 171. Central processor 110 retrieves theinformation stored at transceiver modules 171 to 173 through LAN 170 byknown LAN communications protocol, such as, token ring.

Central processor 110 processes the information from transceiver modules171 to 173 including time stamping the badge ID data as described forthe system of FIG. 1 to produce a database for attendee traffic.

It can be seen from the configurations of the locator system shown inFIGS. 1 and 1A that the transceivers 151 to 162 in FIGS. 1 and 181 to184 and 191 to 192 in FIG. 1A can be easily moved to a locationconvenient to cover a product or a booth. The portability and wirelesscommunications capability of the transceivers facilitate virtualinstantaneous installation and flexible placement to cover differentareas or products. The LAN based transceiver modules 171 to 173 shown inFIG. 1A are shown as connected to a LAN, which also provide flexibilitybecause the transceiver modules need not be fixed at a certain location.This is because the RF communications is achievable without a line ofsight transmit and receive. Thus, the transceiver modules 171 to 173 canbe as flexible as the LAN wiring.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the locator system of the presentinvention in a supermarket setting. A plurality of transceiver modulesare spatially dispersed throughout the isles ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ of thesupermarket. A plurality of shopping carts are equipped withtransceivers, which when activated, periodically transmit transceiver IDsignals to transceiver modules (TM) within their reception range. Thetransceiver modules are connected to central processor 110 through localarea network 170. In addition to LAN based TMs, portable or wirelesstransceiver modules 214 and 222 are also used. The portable TMs 214 and222 relay information received from cart transceivers 219 or 224 to theLAN based TMs. As shown, isles ABC have different transceiver modulescovering different sections of the supermarket. For example, isle A canbe the produce section, isle B can be the canned goods section, and isleC can be the bakery. A plurality of transceiver modules 210, 213, 214and 215 cover different areas of the produce section in isle A. Asshopping carts 216 pass through isle A, transmissions from transceivers212 and 219 are received by TM 210, 213, 214, or 215 disposed about theisle. When cart transceiver ID signals are received by portable TM 214,transceiver module 214 receives transceiver ID information fromtransceiver 212, transceiver module 214 relays the received informationto transceiver module 210, which in turn forwards a packet whichincludes IDs of cart transceiver 212 and portable TM 214 and its own IDinformation to central processor 110 through LAN 170. When carttransceiver 219 signals are received by transceiver modules connected toLAN 170, such as transceiver module 210, the cart transceiver IDinformation and the transceiver module 210 ID information can beforwarded to central processor 110 directly through LAN 170. In thepresent embodiment, the portable and LAN based TMs preferablycommunicate in RF. Each transceiver module includes an infrared receiverto receive infrared transmissions from portable badges for locatingindividuals wearing portable badges. Typically, an employee of thesupermarket 234 wears an ID badge which transmits infrared totransceiver module 232.

Central processor 110 processes packets received from the LAN based TMsand tracks each shopping cart at the first instance a shopping carttransceiver ID is reported from any transceiver modules. At suchreception, central processor 110 time stamps the reception and also maytime stamp a signal received which indicates that the same shopping carthas moved out of range of the same transceiver module. Alternatively,duration of visit information can be collected by time stamping receiptof same transceiver ID at a next transceiver module, essentially asexplained for the system of FIGS. 1 and 1A. In such fashion, eachshopping cart is monitored as to which isles were visited, whichproducts or product groups were visited and the durations of the visits.Conveniently, the locations of the employees and the amount of timespent at which areas are also determined and recorded. FIG. 6 shows arepresentative database listing of the supermarket records collectedfrom the locator system.

Advantageously, with the use of the illustrative locator system, changesin products, positioning of the products, or promotional displays can bemade and the impact on traffic flow observed and recorded. Archivedreports can be generated for further analysis at other times.

FIG. 3 shows the major components of a transceiver module according tothe present invention. Processor 300 and associated memory 304 includesstored programs for operating and controlling the operations of thetransceiver module. Memory 304 also stores its own ID code. Eachtransceiver is capable of transmitting and receiving in radio frequencyRF and infrared. A transmit conditioner 310 conditions the data,including converting and modulating where necessary the data output fromprocessor 300. RF transmitter 306 amplifies and drives the conditionedsignal from transmit conditioner 310 for transmitting via antenna 302.RF signals are received through antenna 302 by RF receiver 308. Inembodiments in which a polling scheme is employed, RF receiver 308includes an address discriminator for comparing addresses oftransceivers to be interrogated by central processor 110. Particular RFtransmit and receive circuitries are well known to one ordinarilyskilled in RF communications and are therefor not detailed herein. Leveldetector 312 detects the signal strength of the received signal.Preferably, a capacitor resistor network (not shown) is used to capturethe signal level received from RF receiver 308. Operational amplifiersconnected to the capacitor resistor network having different thresholdsettings can be used to report different signal levels. The receivedsignal is conditioned through receiver conditioner 314, which includesdemodulation and conversion circuitry for converting received data to aformat readable by processor 300 for processing. Infrared diode 316receives infrared signals. LAN based transceiver modules or carttransceivers include keypad 322 for facilitating entry of data includingtransceiver ID. Display 320 displays entered data or programmedconditions. Interface 324 includes a RS 232 type or EIA 422 interfaceused to connect to a local area network. Power is supplied from wire oroutlet and in portable transceivers, power can be provided by battery(not shown). The transceiver modules can also be equipped with infraredtransmitting diodes 330 for transmitting data through infrared transmitconditioner 332.

FIG. 4A shows the major components of the badge infrared transmitter.The badges are preferably disposable and is of a sufficiently small sizesuch that it could be embedded or housed within the name tags given toconvention attendees. In the disposable version, ID code 408 can be anumber code set by jumper wires to power or ground. The ID data isforwarded to signal conditioner 406, which formats the data, such as byuse of a frequency modulator, for transmission through IR LED driver 404and LEDs 402. Oscillator 409 turns on signal conditioner to transmitdata periodically, preferably every 3 to 4 seconds. In an alternativeembodiment, the ID code 408 can be generated by a microprocessor withthe ID code stored in memory associated with the processor. The badgesare powered by battery (not shown).

FIG. 4B shows a block diagram of a central processor 110 according tothe present invention. Central processor 110 is preferably a workstationtype computer having CPU 420 and associated memory 440, having storedprograms and commands executable by CPU 420 to operate the locatorsystem. Signals transmitted from transceiver modules are received fromantenna 460 through RF transceiver 450 from portable transceivers.Transceiver module data are also received through the local area networkand interface 428. Stored programs in memory 440 are also used toprocess signals received from RF transceiver 450 and interface 428.Central processor 110 has an internal real time clock to facilitate timestamping of the received data when appropriate. Display 422 and keyboard424 interfaces to system user and printer 426 prints data output fromcentral processor 110, including the archival listings and reports.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary listing of the data generated by the system fromthe convention settings of FIGS. 1 and 1A. A listing of the visits byindividuals at a particular booth is shown and the times at which theparticular products viewed or visited as recorded by the system isshown. An archival data of the dates the persons visited, the companythe person is from, the durations of visits, and the number of visitsare examples of data which may be helpful for an exhibitor. Theexhibitor can use the listing to identify the attendees having interestin which products. The listing includes the company from which theattendees are from. Such information may be helpful in identifyingpotential purchasers and competitors. The operator of the convention orthe trade show can employ the locator system to collect data and providesuch data to exhibitors as a service and/or for fee.

FIG. 6 shows similar data collectible from shopping carts in asupermarket. Such data would be useful for market analysts to determinethe popularity of different goods, to study traffic pattern within thesupermarket, and to monitor the efficiency at checkout counters.

It will be understood that various modifications can be made to theembodiments of the present invention herein disclosed without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claimsappended hereto.

1. A locator system comprising: a portable disposable badge including awireless transmitter, a signal conditioner, and an oscillator, operableto periodically wirelessly transmit a data signal including a uniquebadge identification code; a portable wireless transceiver including aprocessor, a memory including a storage area to store a uniquetransceiver identification code and executable instructions foroperating the transceiver, and a data conditioner, operable to receivethe data signal from the portable disposable badge, convert the receiveddata signal to a format readable by the processor, and wirelesslytransmit the converted signal over a network; and a central processorincluding a receiver to receive signals transmitted by the transceiverand a memory including executable instructions for processing thereceived signals and operating the locator system.
 2. The locator systemof claim 1, wherein the portable wireless transceiver automatically andperiodically transmits the signals to the central processor.
 3. Thelocator system of claim 2, wherein the signals are transmittedasynchronously by the transceiver to the central processor.
 4. Thelocator system of claim 3, wherein the signals include a mechanism toalert the central processor to receive the signal.
 5. The locator systemof claim 4, further comprising a collision discrimination program toresolve signal collisions.
 6. The locator system of claim 2, wherein theportable wireless transceiver transmits the signals to the centralprocessor about every four seconds.
 7. The locator system of claim 1,wherein signals received by the central processor are selectively timestamped.
 8. The locator system of claim 7, wherein the signals are timestamped based on a detected change in location of the badge.
 9. Thelocator system of claim 1, further comprising at least one of a displayand a printer coupled to the central processor for outputting datagenerated by the locator system.
 10. The locator system of claim 1,wherein the central processor periodically polls the transceiver and thetransceiver transmits a signal to the central processor in response tothe polling.
 11. A method for configuring a locator system including aplurality of transmitters coupled to movable objects or persons in afacility, a plurality of portable transceivers positioned atspaced-apart locations in a facility to receive signals from thetransmitters, and a processor to process signals generated by thetransceivers and operate the locator system, the method comprising:placing a portable transceiver at a first location in need of locatorsystem coverage; operating the locator system with the transceiverlocated at the first location; determining that a second location is inneed of locator system coverage; virtually instantaneously moving thetransceiver to the second location; and operating the locator systemwith the transceiver located at the second location.
 12. The method ofclaim 11, further comprising: storing data relating to signals receivedfrom the portable transceiver at the first location; storing datarelating to signals received from the portable transceiver at the secondlocation; and comparing the data relating to signals received from theportable transceiver module at the first location to the data relatingto signals received from the portable transceiver module at the secondlocation.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising storing theresults of the comparing step.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein thelocator system further includes a plurality of transceiver modules toreceive signals from the transceivers and the processor processessignals generated by the transceiver modules, comprising: installing atransceiver module at a third location; operating the locator systemwith the transceiver module located at the third location; determiningthat the transceiver module should be moved to a fourth location, movingthe transceiver module to the fourth location, and operating the locatorsystem with the transceiver module located at the fourth location.
 15. Alocator system, comprising: a plurality of portable disposabletransmitter members, a plurality of portable transceivers, and aprocessor coupled to a network to receive signals from the portabletransceivers, wherein: each transmitter member includes a memory tostore a unique identifier and transmits the unique identifier to thetransceivers, each transceiver includes a receiver to receive uniqueidentifiers from transmitter members within its reception range, atransmitter to transmit data signals from the transceiver to theprocessor, a memory to store programs for operating the transceiver andto store a transceiver ID code, and a level detector to detect signalstrength of signals received from transmitter members, and the processorincludes a receiver to receive signals from the transceivers, a clock totime stamp received signals, and memory including executable programsand commands to compare and evaluate the time stamps and the signalstrengths of signals received by the transceivers to track locations anddurations of visits to such locations by the portable transmittermembers.
 16. The locator system of claim 15, wherein the transmittermembers are sized to be attached to a person.
 17. The locator system ofclaim 15, wherein each transmitter member includes its own power supply.18. The locator system of claim 15, wherein each transceiver includesits own power supply.
 19. The locator system of claim 15, wherein atleast one of the transceivers includes a keypad for inputting data to bestored in the transceiver memory.
 20. The locator system of claim 15,wherein at least one of the transceivers includes a display to displayat least one of data and programmed conditions.